Family is All I Need
by BlueStar29
Summary: Atem Sennen, owner of the Star of Egypt Hotel and Casino gets his rich, bachelor lifestyle changed when a small five-year-old enters his life.  Based on the movie, The Game Plan
1. Chapter 1

This is based of The Game Plan. Some things may have been taken from it, but that's because it was just too cute to leave out. So, here's the first chapter. Hopefully I set up a good enough back story instead of just jumping right into the plot. Have fun!

* * *

It was to be the biggest night of his life. The stars in the night sky were shining, the temperature was mild, and Vegas was alive with fresh night life. This was the night that the most highly anticipated casino/hotel/restaurant that Las Vegas had ever seen was to finally open its doors. Yes, the Star of Egypt was opening its Vegas location; and one of the two owners of the hotel, Atem Sennen, was going to see to its birth.

Atem Sennen was the definition of a player. He grew up rich; so of course, he was spoiled rotten. He received anything he wanted with the snap of his fingers. As spoiled and handsome as he was, he was also a huge womanizer. He knew that his looks could melt women into puddles of goo, and he took advantage of that every chance he got. Atem was a height of 5'6, with spiky tri-colored hair, which added a few more inches. The tips started ruby and then gave away to jet black right down to the roots. Blond bangs framed his face while also shooting streaks into the spikes. His clear Egyptian heritage gave him naturally tan skin. The tuxedo he wore only amplified his naturally good looks.

As Atem gazed down at the crowd through his penthouse window, dollar signs filled his eyes. To him, those people were not just guests, no, they were money trees.

"'Ey, 'Tem! C'mon! I got criminals to catch!" Atem rolled his eyes as he sighed.

"You can wait a few more minutes, Marik." Atem said as he straightened out his bow tie. It was then that a tall, muscular, also Egyptian man walked into the room. He, too, was wearing a tuxedo. He had platinum blonde hair that flowed in a naturally crazy way, just like Atem's did.

"C'mon, let's get this party started!" Atem jumped and turned around, not expecting his old childhood friend to actually enter his room.

"Marik! I'm not ready yet! Get out!" Before Marik could make a nasty comment, a shorter man—though taller than Atem—walked in the room and stood next to Marik. This man had white hair and dark brown eyes; also wearing a tuxedo.

"Marik, I told you not to leave the office without your earpiece!" Marik groaned loudly, making his dismay very apparent.

"Why bother? Your preferred method would be to scream my name all the way from across the casino!" The taller security head always knew how to get on Bakura's nerves.

"MARIK!"

"See, just like that!"

"Marik, it's company policy for you to have your earpiece in; remember, you are technically supposed to be undercover." Atem reminded him. While Atem said this, Bakura took this time to install the tiny earpiece into Marik's big ears.

"Testing … testing … can you hear me?" Bakura asked. Marik rolled his eyes.

"Unfortunately, yeah …" The three stood in silence for a moment before it was suddenly broken.

"**MAYDAY!**" Bakura yelled into the microphone. Marik screamed in pain before bending over due to the intense sound.

"Good god, Bakura!" Atem and Bakura had a good laugh at Marik's painful expense. "When I'm able to get up, I'm gonna kill you both!"

It was just then that a knock came from the suite door. "Are you about ready yet? It's time to open the doors and start making money." A tall, brunette man with icy blue eyes, wearing a black tuxedo said in a very impatient voice. This was Seto Kaiba. Seto and Atem were cousins; they grew up together and promised their fathers that they would continue the business together.

"Almost. Don't worry; I want that money just as much as you do." Atem said, straightening his bow tie. Seto stood in the doorway to Atem's room, leaning one elbow against it and smirked.

"For the amount it took to build this monster of a business, we better get started if we want to make our goal." Atem shook his head in mild confusion. The mumbo jumbo of money and finances were nothing but a foreign language to him.

Seto was the one that took care of all the money: he kept track of budgets, payroll, and so forth. Atem was the one that dealt with the politics. He was the one that held the press conferences and he was the one that employees went to when they had a dispute. Together, they made the perfect team for a major project such as the hotel/casino/restaurant.

"Just give me five more minutes, Seto." The tall brunette rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine, but only five!" He turned around and stared at Bakura and Marik for a second. "Shouldn't you two be going through the crowd to make sure no one gets in that hasn't been invited?" Marik gave a mock solute.

"Ma'am, Yes ma'am!" It was then that everyone else left the suite, leaving Atem to finish his outfit. This was going to be the best night of his life.

* * *

The night was going smoothly. Everyone was having fun. As soon as Seto and Atem finished giving their speeches and opened the doors, roars of cheers could be heard from miles away.

Bakura and Marik casually surveyed the area, looking for any suspicious activity, but also interacting with the guests to keep their cover from being blown.

The craps table was hosted by Joey Wheeler, a childhood friend of Atem. Joey really knew how to deal cards. His hands moved in the blink of an eye. Being down on his luck, when Atem offered him a job in Vegas, Joey instantly accepted.

"A'right, ev'rbody in or out?" He was also a fast talker. Guests at his table never had to wait long for their turn. It was good to have him on the team … at least in Atem's eyes.

Seto played some of the games with some VIPs at another table. Every time he rolled the die, the people around him would cheer. Being a child genius, he was able to calculate every angle and formula in order to win every roll.

As for Atem, he found himself at the bar, entertaining at least five girls. Some of them were his own waitresses and some of them were just guests. He did not care how old they were, since they had to be at least eighteen to get in, and at least twenty in order to work even at the restaurant. One of the girls, or maybe even all of them, was going up to his penthouse suite with him that night. He had yet to choose who. One of the girls served him a martini while another massaged his right hand, admiring the gold and jewels adorned his fingers.

"Yes, this was the best idea I've ever had. Tell me this isn't the best place in Vegas." All the girls began praising him as if he were a living god, which only boosted his ego.

It was then that he noticed two people walk up to him, side by side. With a flick of his hand, Atem shooed the girls away. The waitresses went back to work and the other girls went to go woo some other tycoon. Once they were all gone, the young man went over to his new guests. "Ah, Mr. Garner and his lovely daughter, Tea."

Off the record, Atem really did not like the girl. He thought that she was a spoiled, promiscuous brat, but then again, so was he so who was he to speak. The fact was that she was an easy lay. To Atem, that was all she was good for.

Putting those thoughts in the back of his head, Atem put on the façade of a gentleman and kissed Tea's hand when she extended it. He silently sent her a message with his eyes, telling her that he had chosen her to accompany him in his penthouse suite later that night. She easily accepted with a smile and slight nod of her head. Taking a stance, Atem straightened out his blazer before he continued the conversation. "So, what can I do for you this evening?"

The little old man smiled. He just so happened to be the owner of Cesar's Palace that w as just down the street; Atem and Seto's competition. "Well, we just came by to see to your grand opening." Atem smirked. '_Liar_'. He could see right through that lie; the old man came here to see how he could improve his own crappy casino. "I think that you are doing well." The smirk then turned into a fake smile.

"Thank you, Dear Sir." The young casino owner snapped his long, tan finger and, as if by magic, a waitress, dressed as Cleopatra, holding a tray of small cocktail glasses, appeared by his side. Atem picked up two glasses and took a sip from one of them. "Please, you must try our exclusive Pharaoh's Ambrosia." He said, handing the extra glass to Tea, smirking. "It's my own creation." While Tea took a sip, her father waved his hand in refusal.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly. My liver is already weak as it is." He chuckled. Atem did as well, only to be polite. "I will, however, sample your cuisine." With that, the little old man was off.

After he was gone, Atem felt an arm snake around his own. He looked over to see her batting her eyelashes at him. He could also tell that she was a little buzzed due to the pinkness in her eyes and the low amount of liquid in her glass. 'God, this woman is such a slut." However, this could work in his favor.

"Atem, how about we go up to your room for some fun." She trailed a finger down his smooth, angular face. It gave him shivers up and down his spine, and not in the good way. He shrugged his shoulders. Oh well, as long as she stated still later that evening, he could deal with her. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt fingertips groping his left buttocks.

"L-later; right now, I'm going to make an appearance." Anything to get away from this woman. But before he could make his get-away, Tea slid her arm around his once again.

"Oh goody! I'll come with you." Atem rolled his eyes. "I just love meeting new people!" Yeah right. The only reason she wanted to hang on him all night was so that she could make sure that he did not pick someone else. _What a diva_. Aside from her possessiveness, being seen with him would definitely boost her social status. She only cared about herself. Atem felt as if he were staring at himself trapped in a female body.

* * *

The grand opening was a complete success. By the time the casino closed, they quadrupled what their estimate would have been. Seto and Atem were in the elevator that lead to their penthouses. Seto was counting on a wad of cash that was in his pocket.

"Five-oh-one, five-oh-two, five-oh-three …" Atem tapped his finger on the railing.

"Seto, do you have to do that in the elevator?" The taller answered without even looking up.

"I wanna make sure that Wheeler didn't cheat me out of anything."

"Joey's not like that. Especially since he values his job."

"Still, my father always said '_everyone is out to get you. Get them before they get you._' It was one of his favorite sayings." He stuffed the wad of cash back into his pocket. Atem sighed and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger.

"Seto, that was not a saying; that was your father passing his paranoia onto you. And it looks like it worked."

"'Tem, you say '_potato_', I say '_bite me_'." The younger rolled his eyes again.

Finally, their elevator came to the top floor, where the two cousins lived.

Atem had to admit that he did not want to spend forever in this suite. Until he found a real place to live that he actually liked, this was where he stayed. It was comfortable, definitely good for a bachelor in his twenties. Plus, it was free since it was in the hotel; and he was no longer under the watchful eye of his father. Finally moving away from his father was wonderful, but living down the hall from Seto was a drawback. He wanted a house of his own, but had to stay here for a while to see that the hotel and casino ran smoothly. He had looked for houses around Vegas, but none of them lived up to his personal standards.

Atem unlocked the door to the luxurious apartment and opened it. Everything, from the plasma TV to the silverware he used was fancy and expensive. However, there won object in the apartment that was free. "Khufu, I'm home." He called out.

At the sound of his voice, a blond cat with orange stripes across its back and tail began rubbing against his leg.

"Rowr …" it meowed.

Khufu used to be a stray that kept appearing around the rear of the building while the hotel was being constructed. Atem and Seto kept getting complaints of a cat that was stealing the crew's lunch.

One morning, Atem and Seto came by to start on the interior of the hotel when he saw a cat in a humane trap. The crew was discussing whether or not to give it to the pound or to euthanize it. Being a sucker for animals, especially cats, Atem could not stand the thought of killing the innocent little creature. So he took the cat in. Ever since, Khufu made it clear that he had no intention of leaving. Not that Atem wanted him to.

The young tycoon picked up his cat and stroked its fur, causing a purr to emit from the animal's throat. It was nice just having the place to himself with Khufu. The cat was the only one who never gave Atem any lip. That was what he liked. However, that was not to last because at any minute, Tea would come knocking at his door.

He sighed at his choice, but she was the first one he knew was willing to give it up. She was defiantly not his first choice, that was for sure.

_Knock, knock_

Ah, there she was now.

* * *

The next morning, Atem had a hard time getting Tea out of his apartment. Either she was too dim witted to take the hint, or she simply ignored it. Either way, it was annoying as hell to Atem. "Atem, what do you think about Spring for our wedding?" The young man almost nicked his artery as he shaved when he heard that question. A few nights of rough, meaningless sex and she automatically assumed that they were a couple? Let alone engaged? What was wrong with this woman?

"W-what wedding? I never said"— Tea silenced him by kissing him passionately. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she released him.

" 'Temmie-pie," Atem cringed; he hated that nickname, "you're very successful. Don't you think it's time to take a step further?" Atem's world seemed to stop.

"Where the hell did you get the idea that I'm marrying you?" Tea snickered.

"The way you keep coming back to me tells me all I need to know. Besides," she wrapped her arms around his waist and brought her face close to his, "we'll make such pretty babies together." That did it.

Suddenly, Tea was pushed out of the front door. "OUT!" He screamed before slamming the door, not really caring what happened to her afterward.

Atem scoffed as he stood behind said door with his hands on his hips. "Marriage. What a waste! I have everything I'll ever need right here! He said to himself, holding out his arms. However, he did notice the way his voice echoed and then the silence … not only was it eerie, but it also reminded him of how lonely he was. Sighing, Atem went back to getting ready for the day.

After the morning meeting with Seto, Atem went to the security headquarters, where Bakura and Marik stated that they had caught some suspicious kid—a teenager no older than sixteen—trying to sneak in. The kid had been taken to the interview room, where the two heads of security also used for interrogations. There, Bakura and Marik were already on his case as Atem made his way in.

"Look, Dawg I told'ja I had a 'delivery' ta make." The kid used air-quotes with the word 'delivery', which just made Marik even more suspicious.

"A delivery, huh? Did that delivery involve a trip to the cash desk," He reached under the table, "and swiping the all the cash inside?" The kid scoffed.

"Man, 'dat was just ta pay fo' the 'xpress, know what I'm sayin'?" As the kid leaned back into his chair, Bakura pulled it out from under him, causing the young man to fall and Marik to laugh his ass off.

"What expenses?" The white-haired security head roughly asked.

Before answering, the kid tried to pick himself up. "Hey, wat'sa matta wichu, Dawg? This is po-lice brutality!" Marik pulled the table away from the teenager do that he was left on the floor.

"Don't flatter yourself, Punk; we're just security. So we can do whatever we want." The kid cringed. Bakura could tell that he was about to give them more lip but jumped to the opportunity to speak before the kid could.

"Now, as I said, what expenses? Why here?" Giving an exaggerated exhale, the kid finally gave in.

"Okay, okay. Ms. Banks gave me two-hundred dollars to deliver something to Mr. Sennen."

"Who's Ms. Banks?" The kid mumbled. "What? Can't here you." Marik yelled.

"I said she's my social worker!" Bakura rubbed his chin.

"Where are you from?"

"Boston."

"Why would someone send a teenager all the way across the country to deliver something?" The kid smirked.

"It's something that needs to be taken with great care." Bakura and Marik looked at each other with confused looks.

Behind the two-way mirror, Atem's suspicion began to grow. This kid was beating around the bush. Why would he not tell them what he was delivering? Unless it was something … vital …

After the two heads of security recovered from the seemingly non-believable story they had just heard, they looked at the teenager with hard eyes.

"You expect us to believe that?" Marik's rough voice asked. "That your social worker sent a street kid to deliver something five hundred miles when she could have just mailed it?" The kid started laughing. All the adults, including Atem, were baffled at the sudden ludicrous action.

"Ya cain't mail dis, Dawg; 'less you wanna go ta prison. Ms. Banks just said dat dis 'gift' was left fo' Mr. Sennen. Didn't tell me why, just said ta take it ta dis address." It was then that the kid looked into the two-way mirror, eerily directly at Atem himself, and smirked. "Shoulda been delivered to ya room, Mr. S."

Atem's nerves tightened. He could feel sweat drip down his brow. What had this kid done? Did he plant a bomb in his room? Atem gasped. That was it! There was a bomb in the hotel! He turned to the other security officers. "Evacuate the hotel!" Atem ran out of the Security quarters as fast as he could. "And call the bomb squad!" He yelled over his shoulder.

The guests of the hotel and casino seemed to be baffled as to why they were being escorted out of the building. Some guests were in their pajamas, being woken up from deep sleeps. Then there were some couples that were escorted in nothing but bed sheets. They were not given time to dress.

Atem and Seto thought it was better to keep everyone in the dark until they got to the bottom of the situation. It was also a way of trying to keep the media away.

"Make sure all exits are guarded so the guests don't get back in!" Seto barked. The bomb squad made its way into the hall of the penthouse level. The leader of the squad knelt down in front of Atem's door. He placed his ear against the wooden barrier in case he could hear any ticking. Nothing.

"Okay, boys. On the count of three, we move. Ready?" The rest of the squad nodded and prepared themselves for the worst. "One … two … THREE!" With a powerful kick, the door slammed open, causing a loud, surprised and scared scream to emit from inside the suite.

The bomb squad halted at seeing a small child run into the master bedroom and hide under the bed. The leader of the squad told the rest of them to search the rest of the suite for anything suspicious while he went to get the child.

The leader entered the room and watched as two little feet pulled themselves under the bed. He sighed before lifting up the thick comforter to see a scared little face looking back at him. This had to be the most adorable child he had ever seen; even cuter than his own kids. "Hey, kid, what are you doing here?" The leader asked. No response was given. Perhaps the kid had not heard him. Just as the bomb squad leader was about to repeat the question, an answer came to him.

"I'm waiting for my daddy." The boy fiddled with his fingers as he said this.

After hearing the answer to his question, the leader seemed dumbfounded as to what to do now.

* * *

Meanwhile, down at the casino entrance, Atem paced back and forth while Seto stood with his arms folded and his left foot tapping impatiently. Behind the tall brunette, Marik and Bakura kept hold of the suspicious kid. However, the teenager was not about to make it easy for them.

"Dude, can we wrap dis up? I gotta take a piss like ya wouldn't b'lieve!" Marik harshly tapped the teenage boy on the back of his neck, causing a grunt to emit from him.

"Shut up, Punk!" The taller security head responded. Just then, Seto's phone went off. He turned it on without answering with words, then just as quickly turned it off.

"Well, there was no bomb." At this announcement, Atem, Bakura, Marik, and Joey breathed a sigh of relief. Bakura gave the signal that meant that the rest of the security staff could let the guests back into the hotel and casino. But before they could move, Seto continued his announcement. "However, they said that they did find something that you should probably see for yourself."

Atem raised a brow in curiosity. If there was no bomb, what could the squad have possibly found? He then decided to go see for himself.

When the younger owner of the hotel/casino walked into his apartment, a few squad members were inside. They were all standing around each other, talking quietly amongst themselves. Atem felt as if they were looking at and talking about him as if he were still in high school. Finally, the leader of the squad spotted him. "Ah, Mr. Sennen," The leader walked over to Atem, where the homeowner immediately began his bitching.

"What is going on here? You tell my partner that there's no bomb, but you found something else? What is the meaning of this?" The bomb squad leader kept his cool and did not once flinch under Atem's own interrogation.

"Sir, there's a very good reason for why we've called you up here." By this time, the vein in the young entrepreneur's forehead was almost ready to pop.

"And what, may I ask, is that reason?" The squad leader turned around and pointed.

"That."

Atem looked to where the man pointed and gasped. Sitting on his $750,000 leather couch was a small boy with tri-colored, spiky hair—almost exactly identical to his own, only much shorter and without highlights. The boy's short, blond bangs framed his adorable, round face; the color bringing out the rosiness of his cheeks.

But it was his eyes—his large, adorable, round amethyst eyes opened the boy's soul up to whomever looked into them. For some reason, those beautiful eyes reminded Atem of something very special … but he could not, for the life of him, think of what it was.

The boy was dressed in a small orange t-shirt that was covered by denim overalls. His little legs hung off the edge of the sofa with beat-up tennis shoes on his little feet.

Atem felt mesmerized by this boy. If the boy stood absolutely still, he could almost swear that he was looking at a photograph of himself as a child.

"Sir, sir!" Atem was brought out of his trance by the bomb squad leader.

"W-what?" There was a clear look of concern on the leader's face.

"You haven't said anything in like, two minutes. Are you alright?" Instead of answering, Atem looked back at the boy, who looked up at him as well. A weird swelled up in Atem's stomach as his ruby eyes met with the amethyst of the boy.

"Yes … w-who is that?" With a look that practically screamed 'are you kidding me?' on his face, the squad leader looked at Atem.

"We were hoping you could tell us, Sir." This time it was Atem's turn to give the squad leader the same look that he had just received.

"Why would I know?"

"Because he claims to be your son, Sir." For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, Atem's world stopped spinning. This time, it felt as if he could not breathe either. He looked at the little boy, who just waved innocently at him.

"What? This is a joke! I don't have any kids!" Just then, Seto, Marik, Bakura and Joey entered the apartment, making his way through the squad to join his cousin and the squad leader. Relief filled Atem's eyes as he saw his cousin.

"Guys! Will you please tell them that I don't have any kids." Joey shrugged.

"Well, with your behavior, I'm surprised we're not up to our necks in them—

"JOEY!" Seto stood between Joey and Atem, trying to calm his partner down.

"Okay! What kid?" The leader pointed to the boy again.

"That one." The four looked to where the leader pointed and did a double take. His eyes widened at seeing the spitting image that was clearly his cousin.

"Whoa!" Atem pulled on Seto's sleeve, practically in hysterics now.

"Please tell them that I have no children!" The taller looked back and forth from the little boy to Atem and back again. It was pretty hard to argue.

Growing impatient, the squad leader walked over to the boy and sat beside him on the couch, taking his helmet off. He knew how to handle kids. After all, he had four himself. "What's your name, Kiddo?" The boy seemed shy, but eased a little bit when the man beside him removed his helmet.

"Yugi." It was the cutest little voice. Still had the tone of a toddler, but sounded as if he had a very well developed vocabulary. However, Atem snapped, casing everyone, including Yugi, to jump.

"See! I don't know a '_Yugi_'! And I think I would have known if I got anyone pregnant!" It sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

Suddenly, the boy jumped off of the couch and dug into the little backpack that he had with him. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Atem.

"This is for you." Atem harshly snatched the piece of paper from Yugi's hand, causing the boy to visibly flinch. Yugi went to go sit back on the couch where the squad leader welcomed him.

The younger businessman quickly scanned over the paper. It was a birth certificate.

Name: Yugioh Hikari Moto

Birthdate: June 6, 2005

Atem gasped. It was the names of the parents that surprised him the most:

Father: Atem Samir Sennen

Mother: Miyuki Amaya Moto

_Miyuki_

Atem had a sudden flashback, ending when Bakura took Yugi's birth certificate out of his hand. "Hey!"

"Wait, isn't this the name of that girl you married a long time ago!" Atem's eyes suddenly filled with hurt and anger as he looked away.

"Married and divorced … we were … too young and … too different." Without even being told, Seto could tell that the subject of Miyuki was still a fresh wound in Atem's heart. The younger shook his head to rid himself of thoughts of the past. "But that was six years ago! If she had a kid, it's not mine!" As Seto stared into his cousin's eyes, he was not the least bit convinced. He turned to look at the boy on the couch.

"Kid, how old are you?"

"Five."

"Congratulations, Atem." Seto said, turning back to his business counterpart while smirking. Atem clutched his head with his hands, and stomping around in circles. He was starting to get a migraine.

"No! No, no, no! HE'S NOT MINE!"

"Now honestly, Atem, is this the kind of example you want to set for your son?" Bakura and Marik laughed in the background. Atem pointed to all of them.

"Shut up!"

"Oh, come on; there's no denying he's yours. I mean, look at 'im," Marik went over to Yugi and pulled the child to his feet, "he looks like he was pulled out of your ass." Seto and Bakura laughed at Atem's expense again.

"Yeah, 'cause if he's not yours, than you must have been cloned; there's that much of a resemblance!" The four laughed again. That was the final straw. Atem's short fuse had gone out.

"Alright! All of you, OUT! GET OUT!" Still laughing, Atem's four friends and the rest of the bomb squad filed out of his suite. Atem slammed the door behind them. "Oh, I've got a migraine …" He plopped down on the hard leather couch with his hand over his eyes. It was not long before he felt a tap on his shoulder. "WHAT?" He practically yelled. Opening his eyes, Atem saw Yugi staring at him with those large innocent puppy eyes that he just naturally owned.

"Can I go potty?" Atem exhaled loudly and just dropped his head back onto the bed.

* * *

_End of Chapter_


	2. Yugi Takes an Adventure

_A lot of people are saying that this reminds them of "_Big Daddy_", well, probably b/c it's got a little bit of it in there. I think "_The Game Plan_" was another version of "_Big Daddy_". _

_Anyway, did anyone notice that Atem's initials spell **ASS**? I did that on purpose._

_I know it's been a few months, but I'm still getting used to this macbook, so that's why it took me a little time to get this out. Anyway, it's not long, and it may not be interesting, but it leads to interesting parts. So with out further a du, here is chapter two! ... So did not mean to rhyme there ..._

* * *

**Chapter Two:**

_Yugi Takes an Adventure_

_

* * *

_

Atem had just stepped out the door, all dressed in a nice black suit with a silky black tie. His hair looked like it had extra wave to it, which, in his mind made him look even sexier.

Tonight was night two of the grand opening celebration in the casino, which lasted all weekend.

As Atem locked the door, a thought occurred to him for a second. "Hmm … I feel as if I am forgetting something important … Eh, it'll come to me later on …" With that, the young man made his way to the elevator without a care in the world.

Back in the penthouse suite, the little boy, Yugi, was looking around, searching for something with a stuffed panda bear in his arms.

"Hello? Daddy?" He looked everywhere in the suite but could not find his father anywhere.

All of a sudden, Yugi's little tummy growled at him. "Uh-oh." He looked at the panda bear and held it in front of his face. "We're hungry, Ping. But I can't find Daddy …" He continued to hold the bear up while staring at it. "Good idea, Ping. We'll make our own dinner.

The little boy set "_Ping_" down on the couch and dug around in the kitchen, rummaging through all of the lower cupboards, looking for any food he could find. However, in this one all he found were pots and pans stacked neatly atop one another.

Yugi pouted as he began moving the pots and pans around, not only making a metallic mess all over the floor, but also making lots of noise along with it. "No food here, Ping."

The small boy got up and looked through the other cabinets. All he found were a bunch of boxes. To Yugi's five-year-old mind, these boxes had no food in them; he was looking for finished food. "I can't find anything." Without even cleaning up the giant mess that he had made on the floor, Yugi went back to his bear and picked it up. "We have to find Daddy."

Since he was too little to reach the doorknob, the little boy moved a chair from the dinner table and scooted it behind the door. With some grunts, he climbed up on it and grabbed the knob. But it would not move! It was locked. "Aw, nuts!" Yugi folded his arms and pouted to himself. How was he supposed to find Daddy if he could not even get out?

As little Yugi pondered his current predicament, the knob to the door started to jiggle. The sudden noise startled the little boy; especially when the door opened and bumped into the chair. Yugi decided to jump down before he fell off.

An older woman, perhaps in her late fifties to early sixties, was in the doorway. She wore a maid's uniform, complete with cart of cleaning supplies. "Housekeeping!" She called.

Yugi had no idea what '_housekeeping_' was, or whom the woman was; all he knew was that the door was now open. As fast as his little legs could carry him, Yugi ran out the door before the lady could even comprehend that he had been there. He yelled a quick "thank you!" over his shoulder.

The maid just scratched her head in confusion as she watched the little boy run down the hall; then shrugged. Oh well, it was not her place to get into her boss' business, anyway.

As she rolled her cart into the suite, she hummed to herself, thinking that this room would be easy. Atem was a pretty clean person, so this should have been a snap. Keyword being '_should_'. The maid suddenly stopped and gasped before screaming at the mess that Yugi had left for her to clean up.

The little boy made his way down the hallway and into the elevator. Luckily, he remembered where it was after he had been dropped off that morning. The poor boy was small, even for a five-year-old; however, he was very intelligent. It was very easy for him to simply watch adults and repeat their actions when needed. His mother had taught him to always be aware of his surroundings, just in case. So he had to jump a few times before he was finally able to press the button that summoned the elevator.

It took a few minutes for the elevator to arrive. When he heard a loud 'ping!' the doors opened to reveal the interior of the machine. Yugi stepped inside and, picked the button with the star shape, figuring it must have been special, since it was a star. He was very lucky that it was the correct button that lead to his destination.

Back in the casino, Atem was getting his usual "_royal treatment_" when Seto was dinning in the restaurant with some important people, doing God knows what. Bakura and Marik each patrolled an opposite corner of the casino from each other, dividing a few of their security lackeys to cover the rest of the floor.

Just as Atem was about to take another sip of his Pharaoh's Ambrosia, Joey suddenly plopped himself right next to his childhood friend; almost causing Atem's drink to spill. "'Sup, Boss." Atem rolled his eyes.

"Joey, I told you that you don't have to call me that." The blonde card dealer snickered and took a messy handful of nuts, stuffing them into his mouth.

"I know; I just like the way you cringe when I do that." He answered with a big smile on his face.

Atem exhaled, but let the topic drop. There was nothing that could spoil his good time tonight. "So what do you want?" He rudely asked, waving his hand to signal a waitress that he wanted another drink. Joey just shrugged and took another handful of nuts.

"On my break. Though I'd come and see how it's goin'."

"How what's going?" Joey stopped mid-chew and gave Atem a look that was a mixture of disbelief and slight panic.

"Y'know …" He was hoping that Atem would catch on without having to actually say the thought. However the tri-colored entrepreneur shook his head. He knew that Joey was trying to drop him a hint, but that hint was not recognized. Because of this, he was starting to lose his patience.

Just then, little Yugi came running into the casino after having to run from the elevator to the room when he heard the most commotion. He stopped at the entrance and gasped. If he thought the lobby had too many people, there were even more people here! So many different kinds of people that he had never seen before.

He saw women in long dresses, women in short dresses. Men in suites and men in strange clothing. Some wore weird towels on their heads, some wore little black hats that were too small for their heads, and he even thought that he saw a cowboy that called out "YEEE-HAAWWW!"

He saw people of different colors, shapes, and sizes. He saw one big fat man that had a lot of skinny girls around him. He wondered if the man was going to eat those girls. These people were all over the place. How was he supposed to find his daddy in this place?

Taking a deep breath, Yugi made his way into the casino, climbing into the jungle of legs as he did so.

"C'mon, 'Tem! Can'tcha take a hint? I'm talkin' 'bout what happened this mornin'." Joey said, starting to lose his own patience. Atem started at his blonde friend with that clueless look on his face.

"Joey, what are you talking about?" He was really pissed with this little game. Normally he liked games; and usually won, but when he was losing a game he was a sore loser.

Meanwhile, Yugi made his way into a small clearing where there were no people … into a corner where he tried to catch his breath.

This was no good. He was never going to find his daddy at this rate. It was decided; the next person he saw, he would ask where his daddy was.

Yugi saw a man with a camera, who was smiling and talking to a few other people. The smile made Yugi think that the man was nice. So he waddled over to the man with the camera and tugged on the hem of his shirt. The man looked down to the boy's level.

"'Scuse me, have you seen my daddy?" Without even answering the question, the man with the camera started taking picture, after picture, after picture, the bright flashing nearly blinding the five-year-old.

Seeing the frequent flashes, other people with cameras began taking pictures as well. Yugi had t cover his eyes from all the bright flashes.

Joey slapped his face with his hand in disbelief. Usually Atem was all-together and Joey was the clueless one. He was not used to being on this side of the spectrum. "Jeez, 'Tem! I'm talkin' 'bout yo' kid!" The blonde practically yelled. Atem's first reaction was to yell back when suddenly, like a bolt of lightning had struck him, he finally remembered the events of that morning!

"MY KID!" It was then that the two noticed the flashing fiasco over in the corner. Atem stood up to get a better look, but already had his suspicions. Oh no, they had spotted him! Nearly running over two waitresses with full trays, Atem shot out of his seat.

All the bright lights were really starting to hurt Yugi's eyes. He could only make out a few things that the people were saying.

"Oh my god, he looks just like him!"

"What a bum; letting his kid into the casino!"

"He's so adorable!"

"This is gonna make the front page!"

The boy could barely understand a word that these people were saying. All he knew was that he really wanted to get away from them. He tried to stumble between then, but the photographers would not let him out of their sight. Poor little Yugi was on the verge of tears. He was scared and just wanted these people to go away.

All of a sudden, Yugi was scooped up in a pair of arms. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was the person he had been looking for, his father.

Atem made his way through the crowd of paparazzi, all the while trying to avoid their many questions.

"Mr. Sennen, why is there a child in your casino?"

"Mr. Sennen, is this really your son?"

"Mr. Sennen, how long have you known about him?"

"Mr. Sennen, with your behavior do you think you have any more children out there?"

"Mr. Sennen, would you refer to yourself as a dead-beat dad?"

"Mr. Sennen!"

"Mr. Sennen!"

"Mr. Sennen!"

It was too much. Luckily, Bakura, Marik and the rest of the security team kept the reporters at bay. It was just enough time to get Yugi out of the casino. The press damage he would deal with later. Right now, he had to get his kid out of the casino.

Once in the lobby of the hotel, Atem placed the small boy on the floor. He did not seem to notice the tears running down the boy's face.

"What in the word were you thinking? Do you know how much damage you have done to me? Do you realize that you could have been hurt?" Atem did not know if he was yelling out of concern for himself or for Yugi. As he continued to yell, Yugi just stood there with tears running down his face. "That was a stupid thing to do, kid!" Yugi sniffled and tried to rub his nose with his arm, but Atem stopped him.

" …I'm sorry …" Yugi said.

"'Sorry' isn't going to undo the damage that you've done to my reputation! Now they know about you and now I'm going to get bombarded with questions about you! **YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE!**" Now the tears were cascading down Yugi's cheeks.

Seto and Joey stood in the corner, watching the whole thing. He went unnoticed until he cleared his throat to make himself known. Atem turned to him, but Yugi just kept crying.

"WHAT?" Seto stood in the same spot with his arms folded.

"Don't you think you should give the kid a break? You did forget about him, after all." Seto said.

"He came into the casino! It's federal law not to let anyone in under the age of twenty-one!" Atem continued to yell, which just made Yugi's cries louder. "Stop crying! Own up and be a man!" That only increased the volume.

"He's only five." Joey quietly replied. He could not believe Atem had said those things to the kid. They stood in silence for a second. The only sound came from Yugi's crying. Atem looked down at Yugi. The crying was making the kid's cuteness go away. He could not stand crying.

"Whatever!" I've got some damage control to do." Atem stomped off back into the casino. He opened the doors and the flashing lights and questions started. When the doors closed, Joey made his way over to Yugi and crouched down to his level. They boy was still crying. He was still scared and had no idea why his daddy was yelling at him. All of a sudden, Yugi ran into Joey's arms. The tall blond ran his hand up and down Yugi's back, trying to sooth him. He turned his head over to Seto.

"I've got this, Kaiba."

"You sure? You know anything about kids?" Seto spoke without moving a muscle.

"Hey I've got two nieces; I've got this!" Shrugging, Seto followed Atem's path back into the casino.

Joey pulled the boy away from his shoulder so that he could talk to him.

"Hey, 'sokay." He said in a gentle tone, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping away Yugi's tears. This kid had the cutest eyes in the word. Even filled with tears, that just made them even cuter.

"Daddy's mad …" Joey shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh, don't worry 'bout him. He'll calm down. He was just worried that you'd been hurt or sum'm." Yugi sniffled and just nodded his head. "Why'd ya come down here anyway?"

"I got hungry … Daddy didn't have any food …" Now Joey understood. Yugi was looking for Atem so that he could feed him. After the hurtful words Atem had said to the boy, Joey figured it was a good idea to give Yugi a break. It was not his fault that he was hungry; and it was also not his fault that Atem had mysteriously forgotten about him.

Normally, he would take the kid to the restaurant kitchen to get some food, but tonight's French cuisine would probably be too complex for him. So it was plan B.

"Wanna get some McDonald's?" Yugi raised his head and nodded; not smiling. "Me too; I'm starvin'" Joey said as he stood up and stuck his gut out and patted it. Yugi giggled. It was so adorable. Joey laughed along with Yugi as the older took the boy's hand in his.

Tomorrow morning—boss or not—Atem was going to get a lip lashing.

_End of Chapter_


	3. The Conference

_The end of this chapter might seem a little "scatter-brained" and sloppy, but that's b/c I had no rough draft and had to do it on the spot to get out of that scene._

_Anyway, updates will probably be slow. I'm going back to school and my sister just found out she's going to have a baby! This will be my first niece or nephew. I'm making him/her a blanket; so most of my time will probably be going to that. So enjoy this while you can._

_I'm thinking of writing that sci/fi fic I wrote about in my devianart journal. If you think it'd be a good idea, .com/ go there and read the summary; see what you think. It's going to be weird for my standards, but freaks like me may like it._

* * *

That night, Atem came home to see Joey in his suite. The blonde had told him that he was looking after Yugi; but not before giving the loudest, most fowl tongue lashing Atem had ever received. The tall blonde began ridiculing his friend on how he could just forget that a kid showed up at his doorstep morning.

"Ya know, you can be a real bastard sometimes! How could you tell the kid that he ruined your life!" Now it was Atem's turn to shout; in his own defense.

"Because he did. Thanks to him tomorrow's papers will have pictures of him in the casino all over them!" Joey stood his ground and crossed his arms. No, not this time; Atem was not going to blame this situation on someone else. He had to take responsibility!

"Dat's still no reason ta take it out on 'im. He's only five. Besides, you're the one that forgot about 'im! How could ya do dat? We made a big deal 'bout right in front'a yo' face!" Atem sighed and rubbed his neck with his hand. He knew that Joey was going to want an explanation for his memory loss.

"After you guys left, the kid fell took a nap, and I might have had a drink or two …" Joey's honey eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Two?" He asked, those honey irises never leaving the ruby ones. He could sense that he had gotten Atem nervous due to the blush forming on his tan cheeks.

"…Alright, maybe four." Joey's jaw dropped. How could he get so drunk _before_ a night of gambling? Well that explained his memory loss. Atem's system did not handle more than two glasses of alcohol very well.

Joey just could not believe it; sometimes he really looked up to Atem due to his success, but the day's events showed a very non-disciplined side of him. The blonde stood there shaking his head in disappointment. Atem expected Joey to yell at him some more, but all the blonde did was stand there with a disappointed look on his face. He stood like that for a long time. The entrepreneur hated that look. His father used to give it to him all the time. Finally, he could not stand it any longer.

"Joey please don't look at me like that! Say something!" But Joey just stood there without moving a muscle.

"I love ya, Man, and grateful fo' all ya done fo' me … but you can be a real dick sometimes." Atem just rolled his eyes. It was not as if he had never heard that before. Both Seto—and his father—said that to him all the time. Women seemed to say it too. One would think that he would see the common denominator, but that would be asking for too much.

"Where's the kid now?" Atem arrogantly asked.

The taller man grabbed his McDonald's bag. "_Yugi_ is sleeping." Was all he said before he walked out of the suite door and quietly—but effectively—slammed the door shut.

Being alone in his kitchen gave Atem a few moments to think; but only a moment. He would deal with the kid later. After the night he had, and all the alcohol to go with it, the man's head was pounding and all he wanted to do was sleep.

As Atem walked into his bedroom, he wondered where Khufu was … and more importantly, where the kid was sleeping. Oh well, he probably curled up in a corner somewhere. He had absolutely no intention of buying him a bed for himself. The kid would not stay with him long. Hopefully Miyuki would want him back soon.

Atem did not even bother to turn the light on as he entered his bedroom and started to undress. The silver light coming from the full moon shining in through the windows was just enough. The entrepreneur just threw his shirt, tie and blazer into a hamper; not even bothering to clean them up when he missed. He then undid his belt and just let his pants slide down his legs, leaving them there for now. All he had left were his boxers. Usually Atem slept naked, but with the kid lurking around the house somewhere, he though it would be better to have at least something covering him up. Just incase he was woken up in the middle of the night.

The young man looked over at his messy bed. He did not really feel like making it that morning. Never had his bed looked as comfortable as it did at that moment. The silvery-gray comforter was thick and made of a silky velvet material, and all four pillowcases matched the comforter. They were lush and thick; the perfect sleeping material. The bed itself was the Temper Pedic memory foam mattress that his physician had recommended for him. Even being only the age of twenty-five, Atem's stress took its toll on his back. If Atem had to pick, his bed was his favorite place in the world. Slowly, he entered his personal paradise and cuddled up to the pillows to get comfortable.

He was just on the verge of falling asleep when suddenly …

"**OOOOOOWWWWW!**" In complete surprise, Atem jumped out straight of the bed, bending over from a terrible force that abused his neither-region. Atem held his bruising wound with both hands. He wanted to scream very loudly, but his voice seemed to lose its sound all together. His jaw hung wide open and his eyes widened at how_ excruciating_ the pain was. "Uuuuggghhh …" He groaned loudly. The young businessman fell right to his knees, trying to rid himself of the seemingly eternal pain. He had never been hurt there before—believe it or not. Joey had once told him what being kicked in that spot was like, but experiencing it and hearing about it were two different things.

Once the pain had lessened to a semi-tolerable range, Atem was able to get up. He had to balance himself on the bed just to attempt a kneel. Curious as to what had happened, Atem reached over and pulled the comforter down, revealing a silently sleeping Yugi underneath. Atem's jaw dropped further. He could not believe such a little person had such a powerful kick! Thinking of the pain brought it back as Atem bent over and groaned again. He then spotted Khufu. The red-haired cat had snuggled up next to Yugi's belly, purring in his sleep. Atem was about to wake the kid up and tell him to get the fuck out of his bed but something stopped him.

As Atem looked at the sleeping form of his son, the child looked so angelic. He lay on his stomach, in the fetal position, with his arm holding the stuffed panda bear in his arm. The bear covered half of his face, preventing Atem from seeing Yugi's mouth. The boy slept so peacefully as the moonlight showered him in a silver light. It almost seemed as if his pale skin was glowing. The only movement that the boy made was the gentle rising and falling of his stomach as he breathed.

The businessman cringed at himself for not having the heart to wake the kid up. It took all his effort to take just one step to his closet. It was the hardest journey Atem had ever taken in his life. Finally, he reached his closet and grabbed a pillow and blanket. He then, very slowly, proceeded to the living room where he made himself a makeshift bed on his—very uncomfortable and stiff—leather couch. If he ever wanted to satisfy another woman ever again, there was absolutely _no way_ in hell he was going to share a bed with the Kick of Death.

* * *

The next morning, the pain had set in and Atem had the hardest time getting ready for the day. He thought he was going to have to dress Yugi, but the boy knew how to take care of that himself, thankfully.

Now they were in his office. Atem was typing out his speech; the one that attempted to explain Yugi's appearance in the casino the night before. He was having a hard time focusing with the boy in his office. There was no daycare center in the hotel and _someone_ had to keep an eye on the little troublemaker, so hording the kid up in his office was the only way to do so.

Yugi watched Atem's fingers run around the keyboard so fast, and his eyes never left the screen. It was quite interesting.

The boy sighed. He looked around the room. Daddy's office was a luxury size. The walls were decorated with Atem's degrees, pictures of Seto and he on their travels, and paintings that Atem had collected from around the world. His desk was a solid cherry oak. One side of the desk and another side met in a perfect right angle. His large leather chair looked as if was made for bigger men, making Atem seem shorter than he really was. Yugi sat on the suede couch that sat along the wall. Windows that reached all the way to the ceiling were behind it.

"I'm bored." Yugi said, trying to end the seemingly never-ending silence.

"So what." Atem replied without looking away from the computer. Yugi sighed again.

"Can we go to the zoo?"

"Can't you see that I'm busy?" The boy almost flinched at the annoyance in Atem's voice. He sighed and began humming to himself. It was a soft tune that had been his mother's favorite song. He could not remember the words—and if he did, he probably would not understand them—but he remembered the tune all too well as he heard it all the time.

The soft humming was going straight to Atem's nerves. He was not used to noises while he was working.

In fact the company rule was, that if the door to Atem's office was closed, **do not** go in expecting to come out with your head still attached to your body. Atem absolutely _hated_ being interrupted while he was working on something important. His office door was usually always open. But if it was closed, it was to stay closed.

The young entrepreneur's eyes slowly made a trail from the computer screen to the boy humming the mysterious tune in his head. The small boy looked up at the ceiling and began to sway in place. The constant movement and noise was ticking away at Atem's inner ticking bomb. He tried to ignore it and stick to his work, but it proved to be too much. After only ten minutes, he finally exploded. Atem sprang up out of his chair with a crazed look in his eyes.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT?" The high volume of his voice startled little Yugi, who immediately obeyed. Atem sat down again resumed his typing.

"That was my mommy's favorite song …"

"Well your mommy's not here!" Tears made themselves evident in Yugi's eyes but he held them back. Mommy always taught him to be strong in bad situations. He missed her. He did not know why she had sent him to live with Daddy. It seemed like Daddy did not like him. He really wanted his mommy at that moment.

Just then the there was a knock at the door. "Go away!" Atem yelled. Unfortunately, the door opened.

"My, aren't you just a burst of sunshine this morning." A deep, slightly raspy voice responded. That voice was so defined that Atem knew to whom it belonged without even looking.

"What do you want, Seto?" The azure-eyed entrepreneur took a seat on the corner of Atem's desk, crossing his arms and smirking.

"Just wanted to tell you that your press conference is ready for you in the auditorium." Atem's eyes widened.

"Already? I'm still trying to make my speech!" Seto shrugged.

"Well you're going to have to cut it short; you know they don't want to be kept waiting." Atem sighed. Seto was right; It was better just to please the press than to have them wait. Rumors would spread faster than they already were. He had almost forgotten about Yugi ... again. He would not make that mistake again.

"You've already taken care of payroll, right?"

"Yeah …" Seto responded, wondering where this was going. Atem turned his computer off and put his blazer on, making sure that he looked presentable.

"Then take care of him for me, will ya?" Seto's eyes widened.

"What? But I—"

"Joey's visiting his family today, otherwise I'd ask him. Believe me; you're the last person I want to ask." Normally Seto would have struck back with an equally clever comment, but his mind was on the task at hand, and if he could even pull it off.

"B-but—but b-but I—I—I"

"It's only for a few hours, Seto. He doesn't cause trouble when someone's looking after him." He reached for the doorknob. "I'll try and wrap it up as quickly as I can." With that, Atem left."

Seto slapped his face with his hand. He could not believe this was happening. He knew absolutely nothing about kids. Hell, his little brother practically had to raise himself these days. Seto cautiously took a glance towards his newly found second-cousin. The boy just looked at him with large, adorable amethyst eyes.

"Can we go to the zoo?" He innocently asked.

* * *

A few hours into the conference and things were not going well.

The son-of-a-bitch that had snapped the first picture of Yugi came with a copy of that day's newspaper with a giant front page picture of the frightened little boy next to giant bold letters that read _**UNFIT TO BE A FATHER?**_ Atem read that article before he left his suite that morning. It stated that Atem, a quote, "man whore" had spawned a bastard child and questioned if he was mentally capable of being able to take care of said child due to his behavior.

Another paper had the words _**SENNEN MYSTERY CHILD**_. That one went into the fact that the boy mysteriously appeared in Atem's life and started the conspiracy that more were to come.

_**KID IN CASINO: IS FATHER FIT ENOUGH TO RAISE? **_This paper focused specifically on the stunt in the casino. It suggested that Atem was not mentally or physically mature enough to take care of a child. Yes, he was set financially, but their argument stated that he would be a bad role model for the boy.

Other newspapers appeared with similar stories. One day of rumors was one day too many. This had to stop.

Atem was trying to tell them that he did not know of the child and if he did, he would have done anything he could to take care of him. No one bought that; not even Atem himself. Everyone knew that if Atem had known about Yugi, then he would have just continued to ignore him. His whole speech seemed to be trying to convince the reporters that he was the innocent victim in this whole case.

"You must remember that I had no idea that I had a child. The situation last night was a mistake! The boy was just looking for me!" He was practically begged the reporters to not make things worse than they already were. But once again, the fates had other plans. One man in a brown corduroy jacket raised his hand.

"Mr. Sennen, based on your social behavior and last night's incident, you may not be mentally competent to raise a child." Atem's eyes widened in rage. He knew he did not want to raise a child, but God forbid that someone else point it out!

"May I ask who you are, Sir? I have never seen you before." The young entrepreneur asked with suspicion in his voice.

The man that had stated the earlier statement smirked. He wore the corduroy brown jacket over a white polo and tan chino pants. He had a full beard and mustache, but he looked very young despite the facial hair. In his hands he held a small notebook.

"I am from Social Services." It was then that every head in the room turned to the man in he brown jacket. Photos were snapped again. He opened his mouth to attack Atem's parental skills again when the conference room door opened.

"Daddy?" This time, all heads turned to the back of the room where Yugi stood with Seto behind him. Cameras flashed yet again, but this time Yugi was able to ignore it as he waddled towards his father.

Seeing the small boy, Atem cursed in his head. '_What the hell is he doing here?_' This was the worst thing that could happen! Here he was trying to fix the damage that the kid had caused the previous night, and now he had the balls to show up at a press conference about him! He looked up at his cousin with accusing ruby eyes.

"I told you to watch him!" He harshly whispered.

"I asked if he wanted ice cream, he said yes. We were on our way to the kitchen when he spotted you! It's not my fault!" Seto whispered back. They were both brought out of their conversation when the man in the brown jacket spoke.

"Mr. Sennen, you are clearly showing that you have no sense of responsibility and therefore cannot raise this child!" Atem stumbled with his words. He was not used to being so unorganized like this. Before he could respond, the microphone was yanked out of his hand and ended up in Yugi's.

"My Daddy's really busy! Stop being mean to him!" The angry look in Yugi's eyes made him so cute. The reporters all "awed" at him for sticking up for his daddy. But Atem rolled his eyes at the reaction of these people. How pathetic. He heard a few phrases here and there such as, '_he's so cute_' and '_how adorable_'. Those comments were making him sick. The man in the brown jacket stood up again.

"Yugi, do you think your father can take care of you?" There was no question about it in the mind of the five-year-old boy.

"Yes. He made me hungry last night," gasps were heard from around the room which caused Atem to rub his eyes in embarrassment, "but we just met. I live with him now, so he won't do it again," Atem looked at the boy, surprised that he was speaking beyond his years. What was worse, he could not believe that the media was buying it.

'_Smart kid_'. He though to himself.

The man in the brown jacket did not seem convinced,

"What if he forgets about you again?" Yugi opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

"That will not happen!" Atem answered before Yugi could. Apparently, having Yugi there was softening the media up. However, this man from Social Services was really getting on his nerves. Atem knelt beside Yugi and took the microphone. "It was a mistake. I'm new to this whole parent thing, and it won't happen again." To put effect to his words, Atem gave Yugi a loud—very loud and sloppy—kiss on the head.

"Too much, Daddy …" Yugi whispered. Atem nudged him.

"Shut up." The man in the brown jacket sighed. From the side, Seto could see that this man truly had the boy's best interest at heart. Either that or he was just really good at his job.

"Alright, you get one month to clean up your act, Mr. Sennen. If by the end of the month we think that you are still incapable of raising this precious child, we will take him away." To Atem's ears, this was a challenge and he never lost a challenge.

"Deal," He said. With that, the press conference was over. As the reporters filed out of the conference room, Atem looked down at his son with a glare, unsure if that glare was out of anger or confusion.

"Why did you stand up for me?" Yugi shrugged his small shoulders.

"'Cause you're my daddy." A blush made its way to Atem's cheeks. He would not admit it out loud, but he felt a tug at his heart at that simple statement.

"Can we go to the zoo now? I wanna see the pandas." Atem sighed.

* * *

The rest of the day had Yugi tagging along with Atem while he saw to his duties around the hotel and restaurant. If the boy had been bored, he had a good way of hiding it. He loved meeting the employees and the employees just thought he was the cutest thing in the world.

Later that evening, Atem and Seto watched Yugi as he sat on Atem's bed and played with Khufu. The red-haired cat had taken to Yugi very well. Which was very strange, seeing as how Khufu hated most people.

"Look at him, Seto … just sitting there … plotting his next move."

"He's just a kid, Atem; not a 1950's cartoon villan." The younger cousin ignored the comment, seeming to be lost in thoughts.

"A kid that ruined my life." Seto glared at his cousin.

"Stop that, Atem. Your life was ruined way before Yugi came around," Atem cursed at Seto again before returning his gaze back to the little boy on his bed when he heard giggling as Khufu placed himself in Yugi's tiny lap. He sighed and closed the door.

"That social worker was right. I'm not fit to raise a child; I can barely take care of myself." Seto sat down at the kitchen table before answering.

"Sounds like you've already given up." The tall brunette thought that a small insulting joke would bring his business partner out of his funk, but that just succeeded to do the exact opposite. Atem plopped down in his own chair at the table, running his fingers through his thick hair.

"What in the world made Miyuki think that I would want to raise a kid?" At the mention of Miyuki's name, Seto set his tea cup on the table after taking a sip.

"Atem …" But the younger cousin stood up and continued his rant.

"Why couldn't she just keep him? I was perfectly happy not knowing about him and doing whatever I wanted!"

"Atem …"

"Why? If she didn't want him, she should have just put him in the system! Why did she send him to me? Why, why WHY?"

"ATEM!"

"WHAT?"

"She's dead."

* * *

_End of Chapter_


	4. Miyuki's Will

_I realize this is short after so much of an absence, but this is actually a replacement. I had a full document saved, but my flash drive won't work, so I had to come up with this. So yeah, enjoy this b/c it might be the only update I get to do until summer. If you go to my deviantart account, you can see the projects I've made through this semester. I really like it! I should have stuck with this from the start. I finally found my forte!_

_My sister. her husband, their twins, and their dog are all here from Maryland for a month-long visit. Get this: they go back to Maryland for two weeks, then come back here to the 'Lou for another month! Kinda a waste of gas, but since my nephews were premies, they need their six-month checkups to see if how far behind they are in development._

_Anyway, I will try to make the next chapter longer, but I can't guarantee that it will be quick since I start the second semester in 2 weeks. By the way, the Will was copied from an actual Will, so I know that it's correct; I just left out everything else._

_Bye, Childrens!_

* * *

Chapter 4: Miyuki's Will

Atem's heart stopped at his cousin's announcement. It took a minute for him to register the information in his head. "What do you mean she's dead?" He asked very softly.

Seto sighed. He reached beside his seat and brought his briefcase onto the small round table. "This morning, I got a phone call from Miyuki's attorney out in Boston." Seto explained as he dug through the contents of his briefcase. Finally, he pulled out a very stuffed manila envelope and loudly plopped it onto the tabletop. "He faxed me these."

Atem swallowed the lump in his throat before he shakily took the envelope into his hands and read the words that were written in black permanent marker on it. It read CASE NO. 569526: MOTO, MIYUKI. Atem opened it up and brought out the first file in the pack. His heart dropped when he saw that that document was titled.

LAST WILL AND TESTIMANT OF MIYUKI MOTO.

"It's Miyuki's will …" Atem announced with a little tremble in his voice.

Seto reclined in his seat and took another sip of his tea. "Why don't you read it and see what she left you. Atem did just that. He read the will aloud.

"_I, _**Miyuki Amaya Moto of 4525 Maple Dr. Boston, Massachusetts,**_ being of sound and disposing mind, do hereby make, publish and declare the following to be my Last Will and Testament, revoking all previous will and codicils made by me._

_I declare that I am divorced to _**Atem Samir Sennen**_, to which I have referred to herein as "my spouse", and that I have _**1**_ child now living whose name and birth date is:_

**Yugioh Hikari Moto**

**June 6th, 2005**

_All references to "my child" in this will include all of the above-named child."_

Atem had to stop for a second to take everything in. He rubbed his index finger and thumb over his eyes.

"Keep going, Atem."

After taking a moment to collect himself, Atem cleared his throat and continued.

"_In the event of my death, I appoint _**my Atem Samir Sennen, of 5126 Main Street, Las Vegas, Nevada**_, father of my child, as the sole guardian of my minor child."_

That sinking feeling in Atem's gut returned as he reread second two of Miyuki's will. It was official: Yugi was his child and it was his duty to take care of him. The thought of that much responsibility make the young man's head hurt. It was easy to be on his own, but it was a whole new experience to raise a kid.

"Seto, what am I going to do?"

"You're going to do exactly what Miyuki expects you to do … raise your son." Atem's naturally blood red eyes looked at his cousin for a second. He was not really crying, but one could clearly see the stress in those orbs. The younger of the two stood up and quietly opened the door to his room. He saw Yugi curled up under the blankets of his bed, with Khufu sleeping right next to him. He looked like a little angel wrapped in clouds at that moment.

After looking at the scene before him, he looked at the Will again and studied the handwriting. It was defanetly Miyuki's; he could tell by the way she looped most of her letters and dotted the "i" in "Yugi" with a heart. Atem chuckled at that little detail. In high school, Miyuki always dotted her "I's" with hearts. A tear came to his eye as he thought about that. He then looked at the child again. The sinking feeling that he had was accompanied by one of fear and maybe a little … pride? Maybe … just maybe … he could do this.

"Hey Seto, will you—" Atem looked behind him to see that his cousin was gone. A little bit of him was pissed, because he still wanted to talk about this, but another part of him was relieved because he was tired and wanted to sleep on all the information that he had been given in the last few hours.

The thought of sleep immediately sent a jolt of pain to his loins, remembering the powerful kick he had received from the other night. With a sigh, Atem knew that it would be another painful and sleepless night out on his couch.

* * *

Early the next morning, Atem was startled out of the daze that he had recently fell in by a loud voice coming from the TV. The young man screamed and fell to the floor on his already sore back. In front of him, Yugi sat on the floor in front of the TV, looking at him.

"Morning, Daddy." The boy cheerfully said with a sickeningly cute smile on his face.

Atem just groaned with his usual sneer. He hated mornings. He looked out the window to see that the sun had just risen in the sky.

"Good God, what time is it?"

Yugi shrugged his shoulders and returned his attention to the cartoon that was on TV.

"I don't know, I can't read." It was early and already the kid was getting on his nerves.

"I know that, you little smart-ass!"

Yugi did not seem to hear the remark and he said nothing. While Yugi was distracted with the cartoon, Atem groaned as he picked himself up off of the floor. As he stood up, he could hear a few popping noises in his spine.

"Oh that can't be good …" He slowly walked over to the kitchen when suddenly he stepped on something that squeaked. Atem screamed loudly.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?"

This caught Yugi's attention and the boy ran over to pick up what his daddy had stepped on.

"Leave him alone, Ping didn't mean to hurt you, Daddy!" The boy said, hugging the small panda bear stuffed animal to his chest.

Atem's temper was rising very quickly—actually quicker than usual.

"Didn't your mother tell you to put your things away?" He yelled.

Yugi flinched at his father's tone, but still clung to "Ping".

"Ping was getting us some breakfast …" He said, innocently.

"HE'S A STUFFED ANIMAL! What was he going to get you, STUFFING?"

Yugi's bottom lip began to quiver as he hung his little head in shame. Atem cringed, knowing that he was going to crack at any minute.

"I'm sorry, Daddy …"

Atem wanted to yell and scream at the kid about responsibility (as ironic as it was), but he soon remembered the challenge that he had accepted from the social worker yesterday. He knew that Yugi was at that age where he could not keep a secret, and he might tell people about the constant yelling. The young man forced himself to calm down and speak to the boy in a calm voice.

"Just go watch TV …" Yugi, not wanting to be yelled at again, complied."

Atem continued his way to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. He looked at the clock on the microwave to see that it was only 6:30 a.m. Atem sighed and thought to himself that it was going to be a long day.

* * *

End of Chapter


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